REVEALED: The dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see red

Tailgating, middle lane hoggers, no indicators, too fast, too slow, blocking junctions, not staying in lane at roundabouts, indecision, talking on mobile phones...other people's driving gets on our nerves!
The dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see redThe dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see red
The dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see red

We asked you to tell us your most hated motoring faux pas’ – and you responded in your hundreds. Jack Penswick reports.

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Hundreds of Fylde coast residents have their say on the highway menaces

Michael Read, 76, lives in North Shore after moving to the Fylde coast from Southampton earlier this year. The former English teacher is a member of IAM RoadSmart, the new name for the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

The dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see redThe dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see red
The dodgy driving habits making Fylde motorists see red
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Here he explains the faux pas’ that drive motorists bonkers.

“After passing her driving test, a young woman took great pleasure in tearing up the Highway Code along with her L plates, saying it was now totally irrelevant, applying only to learners.

“A young man, who was giving a senior colleague a lift late at night, drove onto the deserted motorway and immediately pulled over to the outside lane. His colleague asked him why he was doing this, to which the young man replied: “Don’t you know?

Michael Read, from North Shore and member of IAMRoadSmartMichael Read, from North Shore and member of IAMRoadSmart
Michael Read, from North Shore and member of IAMRoadSmart

“The inside lane is for doing 50mph, the middle for 60mph and the outer for 70mph.

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“I am a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, now known as IAM RoadSmart, and love cars and motoring, so these two remarks bugged me.

“Don’t they know the Highway Code?” I thought.

“My wife and I moved up to the beautiful Fylde Coast just a few months ago and were immediately struck by how friendly everyone is, it being so easy to crack jokes with complete strangers.

“But the roads are another matter.

“When I was walking to buy the paper, I saw a young man do a U-turn – without signalling - right in front of a car coming in the opposite direction.

“It seems to be normal not to give signals and to push in as much as you can.

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“So many drivers signal right to turn off a roundabout. I don’t trust anyone until I can judge from the position of the car where it is going.

“It is also very common to leave signalling to the last moment.

“And, particularly on the motorway, a car pulls out right in front without signalling, making me brake.

“Reversing is another bugbear.

“I regularly see cars reversing out of a drive onto the main road, and nearly all cars are driven forwards into parking spaces in car parks. Even in a supermarket car park when I can’t get the trolley to the back of the car, I still reverse in.

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“When driving out forwards you can easily see cars coming from both directions but, when you’re reversing, you need to be an owl – with a swivel neck – to be able to reverse out safely.

“It is a very common occurrence for me to have to brake sharply and hoot at a driver reversing out as I’m trying to pass.

“When driving along the lovely country roads on the Fylde Coast, I find a lot of drivers breaking the Offside Rule.

“No, it doesn’t just apply to football...

“In driving, it’s moving to the offside of the road across the centre line on the approach to a left-hand bend but still can’t see. On a wide road, it’s encouraged so you can see further round the bend as long as you stay on the correct side.

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“I frequently have to brake fiercely or swerve sharply to avoid these offside cars. Unfortunately, there is no referee to give them a red card.

“Middle lane hoggers and tailgaters bug me too. The daydreaming hoggers cause traffic to have to drive round them, thus putting others at risk. Undertakers are impatient and have no sense of driving safely.”

Think you can do better?

What can you expect from our advanced driver course? Sign up and you’ll receive a welcome pack and course manual, followed by an introduction to your nearest local IAM RoadSmart group of volunteers. Skilled experts, all Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) qualified, will take you through a number of observed drives in your own car.

Each session with your expert lasts a couple of hours and you’ll focus on specific skills to develop across a wide range of competencies, where you’ll need to demonstrate your newly acquired advanced driving skills such as: control, observation, timing, optimum road positioning, ability to deal with unpredictable roads and other road users’ behaviour. When you’re ready, you’ll take the advanced driving test.

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Once a full member, you may see your insurance premium reduce.

To join Blackpool and Fylde Advanced Motorists, e-mail [email protected] or visit the iamRoadSmart website: www.iamroadsmart.com or call (01253) 886005.

The local group meets on some Wednesdays at Thornton Methodist Church, and the Advanced Driver Course can be arranged for Sunday mornings or at other times.

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